Kispers Ridge
by skip-d
Summary: AH-Set on an Australian farm, Bella is one of the boys until her two city slicker half-sisters, who she hasn't seen since she was 9, Alice and Rose come to live with her. The Cullens Jasper, Emmett and new to town, chick magnet, Edward live next door. Will Bella find her feminine side to impress Edward, or does he like her just the way she is? Cannon couples, Lemons later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **All characters depicted in this work of fiction are property of Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. Some of the ideas in this story come from an Australian TV series called McLeod's Daughters, again no copyright infringement intended. If you haven't already seen McLeod's Daughters watch it, it's no longer running but went for eight seasons and was a delight to watch.

**AN** - This is my first attempt at a story and it's a little different to most of what I have read on here. Set entirely in Australia, everyone is Aussie. I will try to update weekly but that is subject to change. I use the UK version of spelling some words so if it's incorrect for you I apologise. Also there will be some Aussie slang in this story, if I think something is confusing ill explain it at the end of each chapter but if I forget something or you have no idea what I am blabbing on about just ask me what I mean and ill explain it to you.

Rated M for foul language and eventual lemons.

Chapter 1

BELLA POV

I pulled the girth on the saddle tight so it fit snugly around my horse, Tucker. My sister Alice was, as always, complaining about something.

"I can't believe we have to bring the cattle in now. We're not supposed to be selling them for another two weeks!"

"Look Alice, I know it isn't ideal. Frankly I would prefer to do this when it isn't pissing down rain but we need the money from this sale now."

My two sisters, Alice, Rose and I run a cattle and sheep farm 230 kilometres from the nearest city Melbourne, Australia. We are heading out in the middle of a storm to bring 150 head of cattle in and load them onto trucks to make the local sales. Our farm, Kispers Ridge, wasn't exactly in trouble, but it seemed all I had these days were bills and barely any money to pay them. The bank was on my back about loan repayments.

I had lived on Kispers my entire life with my dad Charlie. My mum, Renee, died during my birth and Charlie remarried Alice and Rose's mother, Sue, when I was four. Before I was nine Charlie and Sue had two daughters and divorced, leaving me again with no mother figure and devoid of my beloved two sisters. Growing up without a mother figure left me as one of the guys, I could ride, drink and swear as well as your average Aussie bloke.

Kispers was the most beautiful place I had ever been, albeit I hadn't travelled much, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else on this planet.

"Do you wanna see this place go down the drain?"

"You know we don't Bella, we love this place nearly as much as you do now," Rosalie replied.

After Charlie died three months ago from a sudden heart attack, he left Kispers to his three daughters. Alice and Rose had moved here from the city after finding out about their share in the property. At first I was concerned about if they wanted to sell their shares but after two weeks they fell in love with the place, and the people.

I had my two sisters back, and I couldn't be happier, well actually, I could, if they stopped playing Bella Barbie. I was happiest in a pair of dirty jeans and boots than covered in make-up and getting a manicure.

"Come on, let's bring these cattle in before my fingers fall off," Alice complained.

The ride to the south paddock would have taken me 10 minutes by myself, but Rose and Alice had only been on a horse for a few weeks. We took it slow in the wet, the last thing I needed was Rose or Alice taking a spill of their horses. When we arrived at the paddock I took in the scenery I knew like the back of my hand. A grassy stretch of mostly flat land with a hilly ridge scattered with trees, 150 head of cattle grazing through sheets of rain. The rain was good, I couldn't complain. Rain meant grass, grass meant fat healthy cattle and sheep, fat healthy cattle and sheep meant more dollars in my bank account.

"Rose, you take the left, Alice go right. I'll round up the stragglers and bring up the rear."

I was proud, Alice and Rose were getting the hang of things much quicker than I expected.

Suddenly I heard a familiar deep voice ring out through the rain.

"You ladies need a hand?"

I looked up through the rain and groaned. Great, just what I needed. My best mates and neighbours Jasper and Emmett Cullen sat atop the ridge on two dirt bikes under the cover of a particularly bushy gum tree, helmets under their arms. Alice was in love, the tall skinny blonde Jasper was just her type. The first time she met him three weeks ago she began planning their wedding. Jasper was the strong, silent type of guy, the total opposite of Alice herself. He said what needed to be said and not too much more.

Rosalie was a little less enthusiastic about her feelings for Jasper's younger brother, Emmett. Emmett was like the world's most inappropriately annoying, hyper teddy bear. Emmett was full of pranks, jokes about me being a guy and rib crushing hugs. Rose had first met him bent over unpacking the boot of her car when she received a firm smack on her protruding rear. Emmett left that day with a very pink cheek and a huge grin on his face. She had bitched about his rudeness for hours after he left.

Alice and Rosalie spoke at the same time, each with opposing answers to Emmett's offer of a hand. Alice with an excited yes and Rose with a blunt no.

I sighed; there was no room in my life for the games of relationships. "Just make yourselves useful why don't you?"

Emmett grinned; they both slapped on their helmets and got to work. In just under half an hour we had the cattle yarded and loaded onto the trucks.

"Thanks boys, wanna come in for a beer?" I offered.

"Sure." Jasper, ever one to use one worded sentences.

We all sat on the front porch of Kispers modest homestead drinking stubbies and watching the rain. Jasper, Alice, Emmett and an indignant looking Rosalie sat at the table while I rested on the porch swing, trying not to look too uncomfortable at the blatant obviousness of my friends towards my sisters.

Jasper stood and joined me on the swing. We were a few metres from the others and he spoke in a quiet voice.

"You okay?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" I replied.

"You're quiet"

"I guess I'm just feeling a little on the outs" I confessed.

"Remember my cousin Edward?" he asked.

I had only met him once at high school graduation. Jasper and I both graduated in the same year and Edward had come to see him graduate. I remembered a tall, good looking guy with striking red-brown hair. "Sure, what about him?"

"He's coming to visit soon, reckon you two could be mates" he said quietly.

"You're setting me up?"I asked shocked.

"Absolutely not! I just think you two could easily be friendly towards one another. I gotta warn you though; you remember how you used to have to beat girls off of me with a stick in high school? Yeah well, it's like that every day for him, but there is no one to do the beating."

"So I'm just meant to be some kind of chick repellent for him?" I was offended.

"Yeah kind of, I mean he's sick of it apparently," Jasper responded, clueless.

"Great, fantastic. Well ill be sure to get my chick beating stick ready for his arrival then," I replied sarcastically.

I stood up out of the swing and dumped the remainder of my beer in the dirt at the edge of the porch.

"I'm off to bed all, night."

I stormed through the door to the living room faintly hearing Jaspers voice over the rain.

"What did I do?"

I knew I shouldn't be offended, and if my sisters weren't here I probably wouldn't be. It's just I have lived my whole life as one of the boys and now that my sisters were here I felt more masculine than I'd ever felt. Alice and Rose were both beautiful women. Alice was short and sweet, with short black hair and a skinny figure; she didn't have a lot to work with but somehow managed to look like a goddess with the clothes she wore and the way she held herself. Rosalie on the other hand was god's gift to men, huge boobs, long blonde hair and legs that went on for miles. When Rose went on her first supply run to our local town, Minyip, she rendered people speechless. All of a sudden my best mates were seeing how the majority of woman, besides me, looked, dressed and acted.

I mean for 24 years I was okay with dressing in dirty jeans and an old grubby checked shirt. However, I suddenly had an urge to wear a frilly pink top and show off that yes, I did in fact have tits. It's not that I was jealous of my sisters; I had no feelings what so ever for my best mates, I just felt kind of invisible.

I climbed the stairs and entered the bathroom, I striped off my wet dirty clothes and looked at myself in the mirror. I was average height with a medium build, I had relatively big breasts but I always wore sports bra's that strapped them down to my chest, there is nothing worse than riding a horse with your boobs bouncing everywhere. I had a slim waist with wider hips and medium length slim legs. I liked my body enough but I wasn't confident wearing tight fitting clothes. Most probably because my dad had always been adamant that only easy women wore short skirts and low cut tops.

I held up the ends of my limp brown hair. I liked my hair but knew it could do with some improvements. The ends were all dead and one length.

I turned on the water and was met with the weak water pressure that is country showers. I sighed and climbed under the spray. As I washed up, I came to a decision. If I was sick of being one of the boys I would stop acting like one. Step one, my hair.

Once I had finished my shower I jumped out of the spray and wrapped my towel around myself. I left the bathroom and made my way to where I knew my sisters would be having their debrief of this evening, my room. I barged in to the middle of their conversation about Jaspers 'dreamy' blue eyes and demanded to know which one of them could give me a haircut.

"And I mean a nice one with layers and all that girly crap?"

"I spose I could do it," Alice replied, "I have been cutting my own hair for years."

"Great, I don't want it too short, I need to still be able to tie it up." I said decisively.

"What brought this on?" Rose asked, with a curious glance my way.

"I am sick and tired of being one of the boys!" I huffily admitted.

"Finally!" Alice squealed, bursting one of my ear drums as she squeezed me.

"Right, let's get this over with" I grumbled.

After two hours of Alice poking and prodding my head with a pair of scissors, I was finally allowed to look at myself in the mirror. My hair was still long but fell in soft waves against my back, it felt lighter though as Alice had thinned it out and added layers all through it. The short layers had fallen forward and framed my face lightly. I loved it.

"Oh Alice, thank you!" I said as I stood and gave her a hug.

"It looks great Bella," Rosalie complemented me.

I looked at myself in the mirror again, I don't think I was ready to make drastic changes like what I wore every day, but getting rid of my dull hairstyle made me feel a little less masculine standing next to my two gorgeous sisters.

...

"Rise and shine sleepy heads!" I yelled through the doors of Rose and Alice's bedrooms at 6:15am the next morning. Rose and Alice still weren't used to the early mornings even though they had been here for three weeks. I heard a thump from Alice's room followed by a groan of protest. Light footfalls made their way to the door before it cracked and a bedraggled Alice poked her head out.

"Bella, it's a Sunday," she told me, like I didn't know what day it was.

"I know what day it is loser, there was a storm last night, we have to go out and check the fences. A downed fence means loose cattle or sheep and a big problem later. Come on we will take the Ute so you don't have to bother saddling the horses, and then I promise, the rest of the day is yours." I bargained.

I started down the stairs, "Oh and tell Rose for me, I'll start on breakfast," I said with a smirk.

Alice groaned and I heard her little fist bash against Rose's door. "Get up, bitch!"

10 minutes later, after I had finished cooking eggs and bacon, a put together Rose and Alice strutted into the kitchen, I have no idea how they managed to look so good before a coffee.

With the breakfast eaten and the tray of the Ute loaded with fencing supplies, the three of us set off around the exterior roads to do a boundary fence check. We quickly found a fence down on a paddock with no stock in it. I set the girls up there with the fencing gear and took off to check the rest of the fence line, not expecting anymore fences to be down as the storm wasn't that bad. I was wrong.

I had been driving for about 10 minutes before I found the other downed fence. There were about 100 head of sheep on the road.

"Great! Fantastic! You stupid sheep, why couldn't you just stay in the bloody paddock" I groaned as I pulled the Ute to the side of the road.

I got out of the car and started herding the sheep towards the opening in the fence, using my arms and my voice. It didn't take me too long to get them all in and I turned back to the car to get the fence gear. The side of the road I had stopped near had gotten very muddy during the night and I had failed to notice a ewe stuck, deep in the mud.

"This day could not get any worse," I grumbled.

I took off my shirt, leaving me something dry to put on, just in case I went arse over tit into the mud. Wearing my jeans and a white singlet I climbed into the mud with little hesitation. The ewe was good and stuck, leaving me no choice but to get muddy. I heard a car pull up but paid no attention, I was focused on getting this stupid sheep out of the damn mud.

The next series of events happened very quickly and I had no chance of stopping them.

"You need a hand, beautiful?" A deep voice startled me so much that I slipped on my feet backwards and landed on my arse in a puddle of water and mud so deep that it splashed the front of my white singlet and left me sputtering with mud all over my face. At that exact moment the stupid sheep decided it would be a good time to free itself from the mud and join its stupid friends.

"Stupid sheep!" I yelled at it as it ran off.

A deep rumbling laugh made me look up into the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen. The tall good looking, man walked over and offered me a hand up; I took it gratefully and suddenly felt weightless as he pulled me up of the ground.

"Whoa," I yelled as I lost my balance with the momentum and fell into the man helping me up. I stepped back out of arms and winced at the dark brown stains I had made down the length of him.

"Oh god, I'm sorry. I'll pay to get your clothes cleaned," I apologised. I reached for my shirt on the bonnet of the car to wipe off the mud on the front of his jeans. He hissed at the contact and grabbed my hands stilling the motion of them. He pulled the shirt from my hands and wrapped it around my now shivering shoulders.

"It's okay, I'm sorry for startling you. My names Edward Masen, nice to meet you," he introduced himself, smiling.

"Jaspers cousin!" I exclaimed. "I'm Bella, Jaspers best mate, likewise."

"Oh great, you'll be able to point me in the direction of Weblers then," he said with relief written across his face, Weblers being the name of Jaspers fathers property. "I feel like I have been driving in circles for hours. I stopped when I saw you to ask for directions."

I have no idea what overcame me in that moment, but I Bella Swan flirted with a guy.

"Oh, so it wasn't because you saw a beautiful damsel in distress then?"

He stood back and winked, "that too Bella, that too."

"So, Weblers?" he asked, waiting for directions.

"Of course, keep going straight till you hit the main road, turn left and it should be a couple of k's up on your right." I directed.

"Thanks Bella, I guess I'll see you around."

Another wink and he was gone.

I pulled the two halves of the broken fence together, smiling stupidly at the stupid sheep. It would have to do until I picked up the girls and the fencing gear.

I climbed into the Ute in a daze, still mystified by what came over me. I drove to pick up the girls from where I had dropped them off. They chucked the gear in the tray and climbed into the car.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Rose asked bluntly.

I smiled like a fool, "sheep, mud, puddle" I replied.

Alice stared at me from the back seat with wide eyes, "she has finally gone mad."

...

**Aussie Slang:**

**Pissing down:** heavy rain, not literal piss.

'**Head' of cattle:** 1 head = 1 cow

**Bloke:** a man

**Boot of a car:** Trunk of a car

**Arse over tit:** means exactly what is says, falling over, so that your arse ends up over your tits

**Thank you for reading, hoped you enjoyed it xx d**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **All characters depicted in this work of fiction are property of Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. Some of the ideas in this story come from an Australian TV series called McLeod's Daughters, again no copyright infringement intended. If you haven't already seen McLeod's Daughters watch it, it's no longer running but went for eight seasons and was a delight to watch.

**AN** – Sorry. I know I said a week, but it didn't happen. Might do better this week if I get a little encouragement..

Rated M for foul language and eventual lemons.

Chapter 2

Alice POV

I groaned and rolled over to smash the life preserving snooze button on my alarm clock. The little green digits read 5:30am. I sat up turned and slipped my feet into my set of fuzzy pink slippers. The small amount of light that streamed through my window was enough to see the details of my room. Dirty clothes were strewn over every bit of furniture I could see, it was amazing how quickly things got dirty here. In the city I could wear the same pair of jeans three times before I would have to wash them. Out here I could have a pair of jeans on for twenty minutes and have sheep shit or some other kind of shit on them.

I stumbled over to the window and looked out, there, walking through the yard towards the shearing shed, was none other than my sister Bella. She was fully dressed and ready to work with her Kelpie, Rusty, trailing behind. How the hell she got up so early was beyond me, I had been trying to beat her to breakfast for a week. It was like the woman never slept!

It was my job this morning to feed the horses but from my window I could see them standing at their feeding boxes munching away happily. Bella had already done my chores.

I stomped downstairs, I was angry. I couldn't believe Bella had done my chores.

Still in my rubber ducky pj's and a pair of boots I stormed across the yard with a purpose. At the rear of the shearing shed was a small yard containing several sheep and my sister herding them towards the shed.

"I can't believe you did my chores Bella! Do you think I'm not capable or something?" I exclaimed.

Bella looked shocked. "I think you're perfectly capable Alice. I told you last night, the shearers are coming this morning and we need to go round up more sheep this afternoon. The horses needed to be fed earlier this morning."

"Oh! You did tell me that sorry." I said apologetically. "You could have woken me up."

"It was quicker if I did it myself. The shearers should be here any minute. Can you go wake Rose and get her to make a bucket load of eggs and bacon?" Bella asked.

"Sure, no problem." I said.

Bella looked stressed. The sheep had to be shorn in two days to deliver on our contract, and even with the hired help we would just have them ready by then. "What else can I do? Seriously, I want to help."

"Maybe you could start by getting dressed." She replied with a pointed look towards my rubber ducky pj's.

...

Bella POV

The four shearers we hired arrived separately during the early morning. One of them, Jacob Black, had been a worker for Charlie in the past and had been surprised to get my call last week.

"I would have thought you'd have sold all your stock and put this place on the market," he told me in conversation while he got started on the shearing.

"Well as you can clearly see I haven't," I told him with I smirk as he was currently wrestling with a noisy sheep.

"But surely you can't run this place on your own?" he asks.

"I'm not on my own Jacob. I have my sisters." I reply despondently.

"Yeah but you don't have a man around," Straight after he said it he realised he had put his foot in it.

"How about you just worry about shearing all these sheep by 5pm tomorrow and let me worry about how I run my farm."

I stormed off to help the girls saddle the horses. I rode out to collect the remaining sheep with Jacob's words ringing in my head. This community were all very like minded when it came to women who worked the land. Even now in today's society where women were police officers and CEO's, the rugged terrain, long days in the saddle and often back breaking work, were considered a woman free zone. Even me, who had been doing work on this farm since I could walk, was expected to sell up without a man running the place.

Since Charlie passed away I'd had countless offers for the place. Some I had even considered, before I realised that selling meant that I would have to leave. Leaving this place would be like leaving a piece of my heart behind.

When Rose and Alice got here they tried to convince me to sell at first before they realised that Kispers and I were one in the same. They wanted me to move to the city and live with them. However, once they watched our fathers casket lowered into this very ground, they changed their tune.

Kispers wasn't just a farm; it was where my father and mother rest, where I had my first steps and where I rode a horse for the first time. These paddocks were where I learnt to drive, where I had my first kiss and the loft above the barn was where I'd lost my virginity. It didn't take Rose and Alice long to form their own attachments to this place.

We brought the sheep in with no problems, I was really starting to get used to having the girls around. Sometimes all they did was get in the way and other times it was kind of nice to have light conversation with them as we worked. Not to mention they were always good for a laugh. They were currently arguing about the shower roster. Rose was complaining about having to shower in the mornings.

"Alice, I can't go to bed with dirty hair! It gets all greasy, and Jocelyn Petroni says that if you go to bed with dirty hair it can block your hair follicles and make your hair fall out! Can you imagine me bald?" Rose's argument makes me snort.

"Are you serious!" Alice exclaims, "Well then I am definitely not taking the morning shower."

They were arguing because the house's water was fed off quite a small tank that was filled by the big tank. Two showers could just about empty the small tank and it usually took about 3 hours to refill. I had always been an evening shower person and when the girls got here I told them they would have to decide who took the morning shower and who took the evening.

"Rose your hair is not going to fall out, that's just dumb! People tell you this crap to get you to buy their product," I say in exasperation.

"You girls are going to have to work this out; I am tired of hearing the same argument."

"I don't see why we can't just invest in a bigger tank," Alice mutters petulantly.

"Because to invest in something you have to have a small thing we have got none of, and that's money," I retort. "How about you swap the morning shower every week, that way you have a week to clean your hair follicles by having night showers," I sarcastically suggest.

"That's a great idea! Thanks Bella!" Alice says excitedly.

"Bella Swan; farmer, sister and problem solver, at your service."

...

We returned to the homestead and drove the sheep to the shearing shed. There were a lot more unshorn sheep in the yard than what should be by this hour. We had a contract and these boys needed to deliver.

"Rose can you take Tucker and unsaddle him, make sure he's cooled off," I asked.

"What wrong?" Alice questioned worried.

"These shearers think they can take me for a ride now that Charlie is gone," I told them. "It's not going to fly with me."

"Jacob!"I call into the shed, loud enough to ring over the noise of the shearing plants.

He looks up from the sheep he is currently working on and smirks, "there a problem Bella?"

"Yes, there is a problem. You guys are gun shearers, that means you shear fast... as in a lot faster that you're currently shearing!" I said my frustration leaking through.

"We can only go as fast as we can go beautiful," he said with a wink.

"As fast as you can? Hell, I could shear faster than this," I said.

"You wanna have a bit of a competition sweetheart?" Sam, one of the other shearers commented.

"Absolutely! Go on Jakey, put your money where your mouth is," I taunt.

"Fine, whoever can shear the most sheep before lunch wins, and when I win you put a couple of dollars on per head for me and the boys," he smirks, he knows he has it won.

It's a bad bet on my part, I can't afford the extra money per head but I also can't afford to not deliver on my contract. I take the gamble.

"Okay, and if you lose ill pay you the agreed price but you boys will be staying here till the work is done and maybe step it up a notch," I agree shaking his hand.

The competition begins only a few minutes later. Jake takes his time at first and I can feel his eyes on my backside as I am bent over the sheep. We are keeping score with a small chalk board hung on the wall. Jake realises pretty soon that I am not a bad shearer and steps up his game easily passing my total. Lunch is at 12pm and at 11:45 he notices that he is a good way in front. I know I would be lucky to reach his current total before lunch.

"Maybe I have got time for a smoke before lunch," he says as he puts his clipper down. He goes to walk outside, but not before giving my ass a firm smack on the way out.

God I hate guys like him. Jacob Black is the kind of man who thinks women should be in the kitchen and standing on the porch nursing a baby, waiting impatiently for their men to come home after a long day in the saddle to wait on them hand and foot. Jake had another thing coming if he thought I was going to submit to him without a good bloody fight.

Rose walked in to ask the shearers what they wanted on their sandwiches and to offer water. I pulled her over to the corner.

"Rose, go outside and distract Jacob. I need to win this bet and I am not afraid to play dirty," I said with confidence.

Jacob was gone for a good 10 minutes; I was one sheep away from Jacobs total when he sauntered back through the door. I smirked as he eyed the chalkboard with a worried look. He quickly got back to work. It was nearing 12 and I was still behind. I wasn't going to win.

Sure enough Rose called time and Jacob had beaten me by only two sheep.

"Congratulations Jacob," I said with a smile. I might have hated losing but a wasn't a sore loser.

"Consider yourselves a couple of dollars richer," I said.

"Lunch is ready," Alice called through the door.

...

I was at the tap down the side of the house washing up when Jacob caught up with me. I stood up after wetting my hair and chest to let him have the tap.

"We make a good team, you and I," he tells me as he leans down to cup water in his hands.

"Yeah well, we did get more work done in half an hour than you boys combined did this morning," I commented as I towelled off.

"Bella we should go into business together," he said.

I snorted. "I don't have time for another business, Jake. Kispers is a 24/7 job."

"That's what I mean Bella. You and me, running this place together. Charlie wouldn't want to see you run this place into the ground, and I'll be here to help you, as overseer, I'll make sure you barely have to lift a finger around this place," he smiles at me like he has solved all my problems.

"Jake, first of all, this isn't just my place. Alice and Rose combined own more of this place than I do. I can't make any decisions without them and they don't know you. Plus, I have basically been working here for my entire life. I can handle this. I don't need you to be my knight in shining armour. I am no damsel in distress," I tell him as gently as possible.

He doesn't take it well. He storms off towards the area where lunch is being served.

I suddenly don't feel so hungry.

I am worried about this place. I am not sure if I can run it on my own.

...

After lunch is over I slowly walk back towards the shearing shed. I am kind of dreading seeing Jacob again.

As I near the shed I feel my anger bubbling. Lunch ended almost 30 minutes ago and the shed was silent. The buzzing of clippers was not to be heard. I entered the shed and sure enough there was not a shearer in sight.

Alice came jogging in behind me.

"The shearers are all packing up, I thought they were supposed to be here until tomorrow," she informed me.

I stormed across the yard towards the shearer's quarters and sure enough all four shearers were loading their bags into the trays of their utes.

"What is going on here?" I fumed.

Jacob turned at the sound of my voice.

"You want to do it all yourself Bella, then do it," he said impassively.

"We have a contract Jacob," I said in a warning tone.

"I'll bill you for the sheep we got done hey," he said as he got in his ute and sped off.

I scrubbed my face with my hands. We were so screwed.

...

Rose POV

Bella looked worried as Jacob Black and his cronies drove off. I watched her stand and look over the nearest paddocks of Kispers. After standing there for a few minutes she quickly walked off in the direction of the shearing shed.

When Alice and I entered the shed only a few minutes later, Bella was working like a crazy person.

"Bella, stop this. I know nothing about shearing and even I know you're not going to get this done by yourself," I said as I approached her.

"I have no other option Rose, we don't deliver this wool, we can say goodbye to Kispers Ridge," Bella replied.

"Yes Bella, you do have another option, to ask for help," Alice said. "You don't have to do everything on your own."

"I can't just ask someone for help. People in this town already think I can't run this place on my own. What are they going to think when I go around asking for shearers? Everybody knows I hired Black, they are going to think I couldn't afford to pay him or something," Bella said.

Bella's concerns were real, I knew that. There were plenty of buyers around here that would refuse to work with her if they thought she couldn't stick to a contract.

I suddenly had a great idea. "I'll be back in a few, I need to make some phone calls," I said with a smile.

I broke into a jog towards the house, I knew someone who would do just about anything for me right now.

...

The phone rang twice before someone picked up.

"Am I dreaming," the voice said, "or is Rosalie Swan actually calling me?"

"Yes, when I saw you had put your number in my phone the other day, I kept it in case it came in handy," I replied.

"Oh babe, everything about me is handy. Even my phone number," I can practically hear the dimples in his cheeks as he talks.

"Well, what would you say if I said you could put those hands to use?"

...

**AN** – Let me know what you think. xo d


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **All characters depicted in this work of fiction are property of Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. Some of the ideas in this story come from an Australian TV series called McLeod's Daughters, again no copyright infringement intended. If you haven't already seen McLeod's Daughters watch it, it's no longer running but went for eight seasons and was a delight to watch.

**AN – **I know it's been a long time and I feel bad because a few people have followed my story and I feel like I have let these people down. The story is all up there in my head it's just taking a bit longer to get out. Plus uni is killing me right now.

Anyway, on with the show. Enjoy :)

Kispers Ridge – CHAPTER 3

Bella POV

My back, knees, hamstrings and arms ached with every movement as I rose from the pile of canvas wool bags in the corner of the shearing shed. Three hours of sleep was all I was going to get last night so I didn't bother making my way to my bedroom. There was 11 hours before I had to deliver on my contract and nearly 400 sheep left to shear. My sisters were right, I don't think there is any way that I can deliver on time without help. My stomach reminds me that I am, in fact human, by rumbling very loudly. I was starving and had only eaten an apple for dinner last night.

As I made my way towards the house I could hear the distinct sound of Alice giggling. Its almost impossible not to smile when Alice laughs and I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching as I made my way towards the kitchen. As I walked through the doors I could feel the smile drain from my face. The state of my kitchen was disgusting. Nearly every bowl and saucepan, that were usually kept in the cupboards, were dirty or caked with something burnt and littered along the benches. Flour was spread all over the breakfast table and there were at least ten broken egg shells in my sink. To my dismay the culprit was standing pressed up against the stove, which held a smoking saucepan, by one Jasper Cullen.

"What on earth is going on!" I said loudly as I walked through the door.

Alice screamed a little and pushed a sheepish looking Jasper away. Alice placed a hand on her chest in fright before turning around to fix the smoking pan.

"Bella, you scared me!" she said.

"You should be scared, what have you done to my kitchen?"

"We made breakfast," she exclaimed in a happy voice.

I shake my head in frustration.

"You made a mess is what you made. Make sure its cleaned up!"

"Yeah, no problem," she says as she hands me a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, sausage and mushrooms. I hear my stomach rumble again, it actually smells edible. _Really_ edible.

"The others are out on the porch," she informs me.

I frown at her. "Others?"

"Rose, Emmett and his cousin Edward of course," Alice says like its the most obvious thing in the world.

I am shocked to be honest. Alice and Rose know just how much work needs to be done and they decide to have people over for a social breakfast. I don't have time to entertain the Cullens.

"Alice, family meeting in the dining room, now!" I fume. "Bring Rose."

I turn and storm out of the kitchen.

As Alice and Rose enter the dining room behind me I turn and level them with an angry glare.

"I am_ way_ too busy to entertain your attractions to my friends. If you two want to mess around with the Cullen boys, do it when I don't have 400 sheep to shear!" I begin.

I can see Alice getting upset. "We were only trying to help Bella."

"Help! You think your helping me shear 400 sheep by inviting the Cullens over?"

"It was my idea Bella," Rose begins. "I asked the Cullen's over to help you shear in exchange for three great meals and a six pack each at the end of the day."

"What! You had no right, Rose. I_ need_ to do this myself, prove that I can run this place on my own," I said.

"You're not on your own Bella, you have us and the Cullens," Alice tries to reassure me.

"Plus, I had every right Bella, I own just as much of this place as you do," Rose adds.

"Fine! But you two better make sure they do _actual_ work and not just get in my way," I said as I made my way out of the room in the direction of the porch.

As I walk out the first thing I notice is three large men sitting at the outdoor table and chairs shovelling breakfast into their mouths like it's their last meal. Edward looks a bit different than when I first saw him, more casual and relaxed. I walk over and stand between Edward and Emmett at the table. All three look up from their food.

"Edward, nice to see you again, I trust you made it to Weblers without a problem?" I greet Mr. Green eyes.

"No problem at all, you completely un-_mud_dled me," he said with a wink.

I heard an ungainly snorting noise and blushed when I realised it was me. Emmett and Jasper proceeded to nearly die from laughter.

I grabbed my plate and started to stomp in the direction of the shearing shed.

"I expect you in the shed and ready to work in 5 minutes. Don't be late!" I said.

...

Three hours later and I felt a bit better about what we had done. 280 sheep left and then I could rest easy with a nice fat wool check. Emmett, Jasper and I were going well and getting about 40 sheep done per hour. Edward was helping the girls to class the wool and separate it for pressing. The six of us were working like a well oiled machine.

...

It was 3:30 pm and it was down to the wire. We had 15 more sheep to shear, class the wool and package by 4 pm.

"Were not going to make it people!" I yelled, "Someone go stall the truck."

Edward rushed out and I heard a car drive off in the direction of the front gate.

We cheered as I pushed the last sheep out into the yard, but the rush was still on.

"Alright finish the classing and pressing and I'll go get the paperwork sorted, we did it guys!" I yelled jogging out the door.

I jogged across the yard surprised that there was no truck in sight. Edward must be doing a great job at stalling the driver.

I reached the office and sighed. Memories flooding in of rainy days spent playing cards with Charlie the faint smell of coffee and tobacco making it feel like just yesterday. I sat down at the old desk and shuffled through the mess of papers looking for the wool contract.

I eventually found it in the mess and glanced through the document. I froze when I read a small section down the bottom that read date of pick up and glanced up at the calendar hung above the fireplace.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no," I groaned.

"Nooooooo," I cried.

"What's happened?" Edward said as he stood in the door way.

"Come in, shut the door," I lowered my voice.

"I got the date wrong," I confessed.

"Were too late?" Edward questioned.

"No too early," I groaned, "The wools due next Tuesday!"

"So let me get this straight, you worked everyone like dogs for 10 hours and the wools not due for another week?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, you can't tell the others okay, they will hate me." I pleaded.

A deep rumbling laugh started and Edward tried to speak between laughs. "I think they might notice when the wool says in the shed another week."

"Oh nooo," I replied as I burst into giggles myself.

"They are gonna kill me!"

...

"Here's to good friends, back breaking work and being a week early," I toasted.

"Who is stupid enough to read the delivery date wrong," Alice grumbled as she knocked her stubbie against the rest of ours.

We had to tell the others what had happened with the wool. Edward spilled the beans when I couldn't keep a straight face when the others asked when the truck was arriving. Quite simply the others didn't find it quite so amusing until Edward pointed out that it was me who had stayed up all night.

Yeah, the others thought that was hysterical.

The boys went all mucho on us then, demanding we put our feet up and relax while they manned the barbie. We had a delicious meal of steak sandwiches and sausages in bread and all ate till we were nursing food babies.

"I can't believe I worked for hours with that greasy wool," Rose muttered grumpily. "Are my hands going to feel like this forever, I've washed them a billion times already!"

"Aww poor baby," Emmett teased. "You know I have heard that friction works really well," he continued, and with a crude hand gesture and a wink said, "I would happily supply something for you to rub them on."

"Its quite sad what you'd do to get anything but your own hand on your cock," Rose replied, a grimace painted on her features.

We all laughed at that. It was good to see someone that could give Emmett a run for his money. I looked around at us all while Emmett and Rose continued to snark at each other. Jasper and Alice had eyes only for each other and both looked like they hadn't heard a word for the past half-hour.

I smiled and continued to look around until my eyes met two very green ones. Edward was looking at me with an intense look in his eyes. It kind of felt like he was trying to figure me out.

I was snapped back to reality by the sharp sound of a deck chair rubbing against the wooden deck. Rose had stood quickly and was pointing her index finger directly at Emmett.

"I am not a Princess! I'll have you know I work bloody hard around this farm and Bella values me as a worker, and that's pretty bloody good seeing as the closest id come to a cow three months ago was eating beef! I will not sit here and let you judge me and act all holier than thou because I don't know much about farm work. Go to hell Emmett Cullen!" And with that Rose stormed away from the table and inside. We all heard her stomp up the stairs followed by door slam.

Emmett sat there stunned for a few minutes before breaking out into a shit eating grin.

"I think I'm in love."

Wow.

"And on that note, I think it's time for bed," I said as I stood and started collecting the plates.

"Oh let me help you with those," Edward quickly jumped up grabbing his, Emmett, Alice and Jasper's plates before they could even move.

I grabbed mine and Rose's plates and led the way towards the kitchen. There I just dumped the plates in the sink not bothering with the washing up for now, I'll do it in the morning.

Edward followed my lead and put the rest of the dishes on top of mine.

"You need a hand with them?" he asked, nodding towards the pile.

"Nah ill do them tomorrow," I explained. "I'm working on four hours of sleep remember."

"That's right you had sheep to shear," he said with a smirk.

"Oh shut it you, if my arms weren't aching so badly I would punch you right now," I threatened as I leaned back against the kitchen bench.

Edward didn't respond but shifted closer to me as his gaze dropped from my eyes down to my lips.

There was suddenly a honk from outside.

"That's the boys, id better go," Edward supposed.

"Yeah sure, ill just get the beer I owe you," I replied walking towards the fridge.

I opened her up and bent down to grab the three six packs on the bottom shelf. I heard Edward inhale sharply and turned quickly to see what was wrong. He quickly relieved me of the beer and stuttered out a thanks.

"No need, honestly. Tell the boys I said thanks and tell them if they need help shearing for Elders next month don't hesitate to ask."

I was so grateful honestly, if the wool really had been due today, there was no way I could have done it without them.

"Sure no problem. I'll see you around Bella," Edward replied.

"Goodnight Edward," I responded.

...

Later, after a long hot shower and after I had curled up on my soft bed and getting ready to tuck into some well earned sleep, my bedroom door swung open and bare feet padded across the hardwood floors. The right side of my bed sunk down as someone climbed in beside me.

"Bella, are you awake?" Rose whispered.

"No," I groaned.

"I need your advice," she continued.

"Rose go away, whatever it is can wait till morning."

"It can't," she pleaded.

"Fine," I sighed sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp. "It's not like I could sleep anyway, the silence was too deafening."

Rose looked at me strangely before shrugging. I must be too tired to pull off sarcasm.

"Emmett is a rude, sexist pig and I want to fuck his brains out," Rose was never one to beat around the bush.

"Oh lovely, a bedtime story."

"Oh ha-ha, very funny. What do I do Bella? I am disgracing women all over the world for even entertaining the idea of sleeping with him." Rose begged.

"Rose, I am going to be very blunt here. Do you plan on staying here for a while?" I asked.

"Yeah of course, you need me to get the farm up and running again." She answered.

"Well that could take years, and let me tell you, this place can get mighty boring without romantic prospects." I explained.

"Emmett can be a little full on sometimes, but he has a good heart and treats the girls he's with like princesses. You won't find anyone better within a 100 kilometre radius I assure you."

"You think?" Rose questioned.

"I've known Emmett for a long time Rose, and the way he looks at you..."

"What?"

"Well let's just say, women search the world looking for a man who would look at them like that."

Rose sighed and seemed lost in her thoughts for a while.

"Okay," she eventually said. "I will give in, _eventually_. But he's gonna have to work for it."

And with that she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before jumping up and practically skipping out of my room.

I reached over and shut of the bedside lamp. The moonlight streaming through my window made a strange pattern on my wall and I studied it for awhile, just thinking.

The way Edward looked at me was different to the way Emmett looked at Rose, but there was something...

There was something in those eyes that made me feel like maybe, _just maybe_, he might be interested in something more than friendship...

I laughed and rolled over. _Maybe_ I was hallucinating from lack of sleep.

**Aussie Slang:**

**Stubbie: **beer in a can

**Barbie: **barbeque

**Anything else you don't understand, let me know.**

**AN – **Thanks for reading - d


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